INNOCENCE AND ARROGANCE

by Kimberley Reeves

  “Your house. Who knows if your bikini top might accidentally come off or not?”

  Mina leaned over and kissed him. “Or your bottoms,” she smiled sweetly.

  He stood and helped her to her feet, drawing her in for a longer, more lingering kiss, then took Buster’s leash and held Mina’s soft hand in the other. Both of them were too engrossed with each other to notice the eyes that peered at them over the top of the woman’s sunglasses or the arched brow and malicious smile.

  ****

  Mina studied Scott’s brothers while they hauled out her furniture. They were all big men, about six foot three, with broad shoulders and muscular arms. All three had the same dark hair and piercing blue eyes, but Nick seemed to be much more laid back than Scott or Adam. Both of his brothers had greeted her warmly and didn’t seem the least put out to be helping her. She did her best to help, but most of the pieces that were left were far too heavy for her. Finally, Scott kissed her and told her he’d rather she not take the chance of getting injured.

  With so many strong men to load the furniture, they were done in just less an hour. They quickly unloaded everything at the beach house then left her there while they went to Jenna’s storage space to get the furniture Scott said she’d offered Mina. It was only after the men had gone that she began to wonder if leaving her behind had been part of the plan all along. After all, Scott had played a nice little trick on her with the clothes he’d paid for, so what was to keep him from doing the same with the furniture?

  She wandered to the kitchen and started unpacking. She didn’t know whether to be happy that Scott wanted to take care of her or angry at the way he was going about it. Minda smiled to herself. He’d been right when he said she wouldn’t have accepted the clothes if she’d known he was paying for them. But Scott wasn’t a man who took no for an answer, so he’d simply done what he had to do in order to get what he wanted. It was actually incredibly sweet when she thought about it. When she considered the elaborate planning he’d had to do, she found it even more endearing. So maybe he’d gone about it in the wrong way, but his heart had certainly been in the right place.

  She’d nearly unpacked all the boxes for the kitchen when she heard their trucks roll up. When she’d first seen Nick and Adam drive up in their black pick-ups, she had to laugh. Apparently, if it wasn’t a Ford pick-up or painted black, the Travis boys had no use for it. Mina walked out onto the deck and eyed the furniture suspiciously. She’d lay odds if she checked Scott’s wallet or one of his brother’s trucks, she’d find more than a few freshly pulled price tags.

  She took inventory as they untied the straps that secured the furniture; sofa with matching arm chairs, dining room table and chairs, coffee table with matching end tables, a new dresser and vanity. She shook her head with a smile. Apparently Scott intended to spend a few nights at her house and thought her own bed was too small. The one loaded up on Adam’s, or maybe it was Nick’s truck, was definitely king sized.

  Mina decided to spare him the trouble of telling her the story she was sure he’d spent quite some contriving. He was busy untying a knot on the rope they’d used to secure the furniture in his truck when she went to join him. She crossed her arms, a knowing look on her face.

  “Wouldn’t it have been easier just to tell me the place came furnished?”

  Scott looked a little surprised then grinned down at her sheepishly. “I suppose it would have, but it was easier to paint and get the repairs done without all this stuff in there. Are you mad at me?”

  “I should be.”

  He stopped what he was doing and pulled her into his arms. “But you’re not, right?”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. “Would it do any good? Would you haul it all away if I said I didn’t want it?”

  “No. I’d just have to make up some wild story about not being able to return them.”

  “Have I told you lately how much I adore you, Scott Travis?”

  His reply was interrupted when Nick came round the side of the truck. “Well, that’s hardy fair,” he teased. “We do all the work and Scott gets the reward.”

  Scott snorted. “I did just as much as you two!”

  Adam came to see what the holdup was and caught what Scott said. He looked at Nick, “Does standing around barking orders count?”

  “Apparently,” Nick said dryly.

  “You see what I have to put up with?” Scott asked Mina. “You just can’t find good help anymore.”

  “Bailee’s going to have my hide if I don’t get home soon,” Nick ignored Scott’s comment.

  Mina took that as her cue to get out of their way and busied herself in the kitchen by emptying the last of the boxes. She found herself laughing softly at the light-hearted banter between brothers as they carried the furniture through the house. When Scott stuck his head in to tell her Nick and Adam were leaving, she came out to thank them.

  “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help,” she said warmly. “After I’m settled, I’d like to invite you both to dinner. I’d love for you to bring your wife and babies as well, Nick. Of course, you’re welcome to bring a date, Adam.” She smiled up at Scott. “I think it would be nice if we had Scott do all the grilling, don’t you?”

  Scott’s face fell, but his two brothers agreed it was a grand idea. She went back to the kitchen while Scott walked Adam and Nick to their trucks. By now it was getting dark so she reached for the light switch when she heard the men’s voices filter through the open window. If she turned on the light now, they were sure to look up and see it was open and stop talking. Even as she tiptoed towards the window, Mina felt guilty for eavesdropping, but she’d heard one of them say her name and couldn’t seem to stop herself.

  “What do you think of her?” Scott asked.

  “What happened to the leggy blondes you usually have clinging to your arm?” Nick teased.

  “Forget that,” Adam piped up, “I want to know where your Mina spent the night last night. Her bed was disassembled at the other house and I didn’t see a sleeping bag here so…”

  Nick didn’t give Scott a chance to answer. “And another thing, since when do you spend money on a woman?”

  “Not to mention he kissed her right in front of us,” Adam chimed.

  “I’m sure I heard our brother call her sweetheart, too,” Nick added. “What I don’t get is what she sees in you. She’s a beautiful, intelligent woman. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Are you two finished?” Scott eyed first one and then the other. “You’re right, she’s not like any of the women I’ve taken out before. She’s not exactly the type you take to bed once or twice and then forget about.”

  “You’re serious,” Adam sounded doubtful.

  Scott nodded. “She spent the night at my house last night.”

  Nick whistled between his teeth. “You know what happened to me the first time I let a woman spend the night at my house.”

  “You married her,” Scott and Adam said in unison.

  “Is the tradition going to live on?” Nick asked.

  Scott chuckled. “I’m not sure. First Dad, then you and Gage. Hell, what chance do I have of escaping marriage if that’s what springs the trap?”

  “Well, you might be able to side-step that tradition,” Adam told him, “but if you bring her home to meet Mom and Dad, we’ll know it’s all over but the shouting.”

  Mina moved away from the window, troubled by what Scott had said. Spring the trap? Is that how he viewed marriage? Did he think she was trying to trap him in some way? She walked back into the living room, her mind still turning over what she’d heard. Well why wouldn’t he think that? After all, she’d practically mauled him that morning until she’d worked him into such a state of arousal he probably couldn’t have stopped if he’d wanted to. And then later, she’d goaded him about his age.

  Mina closed her eyes. God, he had to be kicking himself right now for sleeping with her without having some sort of protec
tion. Her eyes snapped open again when she heard the two trucks start up, then the soft pad of Buster’s paws against the hardwood floor.

  “What is it with you and Travis men? You didn’t bark at any of them! I don’t know if that means they’re all good guys or you’ve just turned into a marshmallow.”

  “I’m going with the good guy theory,” Scott grinned as he came through the door. In three long strides he was across the room, pulling Mina into his arms. “It feels like I haven’t kissed you for ages.”

  She turned into liquid goo as his mouth came down hard on hers. His arms crushed her to his chest and she was instantly swept away into that mindless state his kisses always left her in. His hips moved against hers as if they were slow dancing and Mina was suddenly aware he was shuffling them back down the hall towards the bedroom.

  She drew her head back, instantly recognizing the heated look in his eyes. “What are you doing?”

  Scott kept moving her slowly backwards. “You have a new mattress that needs breaking in,” he said as if it was a silly question.

  “We can’t,” she protested as they rounded the corner into the bedroom, “you didn’t get any…” Mina stopped when he pulled a condom from his pocket. “What did you do, buy it out of a gas station vending machine?”

  Scott dropped down onto the mattress, pulling her down with him. “No, honey,” he tugged her blouse off. “I bought a pack so we’d have enough to get us through the night.”

  He pulled her shorts and panties off, taking her sandals along with them. The room was dark but she heard the rustle of his shirt as he removed it, then the sound of his zipper being lowered.

  “Scott? How many is in a pack?”

  He lowered himself over her, gently kneeing her thighs apart. “Only six,” he said, easing himself into her.

  Mina drew in a sharp breath when he began a slow, steady rhythm. Then what he’d said finally sank in. “Did you say six?”

  “Don’t worry, baby,” he whispered in her ear, “we can buy more in the morning.”

  “Oh, God,” she rasped hoarsely. They were words she’d find herself repeating several more times before the night was over.

  ****

  Mina opened her eyes groggily and snuggled closer to Scott, loving the heat of his body next to hers. She was feeling quite content, if not a little tender, from their amorous night of love making. After making sure her new mattress was thoroughly broken in they’d gone back to his house but she’d barely made it through the door before Scott was reaching for her again. They’d made it as far as the living room before he tossed her on the sofa for a very quick and heated session of love making. Mina closed her eyes again, a satisfied smile on her lips.

  After they’d eaten dinner, she followed him upstairs to take a shower where they’d taken turns soaping each other off and then worked themselves into quite a lather. She’d laughed until her sides hurt when the condom kept slipping from his fingers, nearly being sucked down the drain a few times. Finally, she’d taken it from his hands and put it on for him, an experience that Scott seemed to enjoy immensely.

  After their shower, they’d curled up on the sofa to watch a movie but when his hands kept roaming insistently over her body, she flipped off the television and pounced on him right there. She’d been the aggressor that time, touching and kissing until he was half out of his mind. Then Scott produced another condom and Mina couldn’t bring herself to ask where he’d been hiding it. She took it from him and placed it firmly over him before straddling his thighs and bringing them both to a shuddering climax. Almost too exhausted to move, they’d dragged themselves to bed and immediately drifted off into a deep sleep.

  Mina wasn’t sure how long she’d been sleeping before he woke her with feather soft kisses to her lips. She’d turned into him, entwining her legs with his. They’d kissed and touched, exploring each other’s bodies for what seemed like hours until they were both so aroused that when he finally did penetrate her, it was over in a matter of minutes.

  Mina rubbed her check against the sleek firmness of his chest, breathing in the musky, masculine scent of him. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined feeling so strongly for a man she’d known for barely a week. She tilted her head back to look at him, her pulse quickening at the sight of his handsome face, and knew in that moment she loved him. Hopelessly, helplessly in love, she thought sadly, with a man who believed marriage was something you got trapped into.

  She watched his face as he slowly woke up, her heart surging when his eyes opened and he gave her sleepy smile. She loved that first lazy kiss of the morning and the way Scott always pulled her to him as if he couldn’t get close enough. Mina couldn’t believe he’d even be capable of making love again after the numerous times he’d taken her the night before, but he kept her mouth firmly locked to his while his hand patted the nightstand beside him in search of the last condom.

  He took his time, making sure every inch of her body received ample attention until he had Mina wound so tight she was nearly frantic with the need to find release by the time he finally brought her to a powerful climax. When Scott lifted himself from her and disappeared into the bathroom she just laid there, not even sure if she had the strength to get out of bed. He returned a few minutes later, obviously feeling quite pleased with himself.

  “Not bad for a man my age,” he said with a cocky grin as he slipped back under the covers.

  Mina rose up on one elbow, an incredulous look on her face. “Oh my God, that’s what this marathon was all about? Because of the comment I made about your age?”

  “Not entirely,” he pulled her back down in his arms. “Part of it was about a year’s worth of pent up sexual frustration and a very major part of it was just being able to make love to you whenever I wanted.”

  “So it was a mixture of male ego and pure old fashioned lust,” she said dryly.

  “That about sums it up,” he chuckled.

  She cuddled closer to him. “I can live with that.”

  “I’ve got some errands to run this morning. Do you want me to drop you off at your house on my way out?”

  “No, I’ll take Buster and walk down. He’ll enjoy the exercise. Will you be back in time for lunch?”

  Scott gave her a kiss then sat up and swung his long legs over the side of the bed. “Don’t worry about fixing anything. I’ll pick something up for both of us on the way back.”

  Mina took a great deal of pleasure in watching his backside as he strolled into the bathroom, then stretched and tried to make herself get out of bed. She was already starting to feel the pressure of cramps and knew it wouldn’t be long before her cycle started. It was a good thing Scott had over indulged in having sex the night before because it was going to be several days before he’d be able to make love to her again.

  By the time Scott got out of the shower, she’d slipped on his t-shirt and let Buster outside. She’d waited about ten minutes to give Buster ample time relieve himself then brought him back inside and fed him, making a mental note to pick up an extra food and water dish so there would be one at each house. She was disappointed to find Scott almost completely dressed by the time she got back upstairs.

  “Ah, I missed the show,” she complained.

  “I think I’ve created a monster,” he grinned. “You’re turning into quite a sex fiend.”

  Mina put her arms around his waist and smiled up at him. “I can’t deny it. I’m crazy about your body.”

  “You’re certainly doing a fine job of wearing it out.” He gave her a kiss and hugged her to him. “I’ve got to run, sweetheart, but I should be back in a few hours. Don’t try moving any of the heavy stuff around until I get back.”

  “I’m not completely helpless, you know,” she pouted.

  “Feed my ego, honey. Let me believe you need my manly strength.”

  Mina laughed. “You’re right. I’m weak as a kitten,” she ran her hands down the firm muscles of his arms. “Luckily, I have your brute strength to re
ly on.”

  “That’s better.”

  He gave her another kiss before leaving her to take her shower while he ran off to do his errands, but after he’d gone she decided it made more sense to shower at her own house. She put Buster’s leash on and walked along the shore so he could splash in the water. She loved it here, loved being so close to Scott and being able to get from his house to hers by foot.

  Technically, the beaches in front of the houses were private but the owners knew each other, or at least knew who belonged and who didn’t. Scott had waved to their neighbors the few times they’d made the trek on foot and they’d had Buster with them before, so she assumed that most of the people between his house and hers would know she wasn’t just someone who’d wandered too far from the public beach. That’s why she was somewhat surprised when a young man about her age came down from his house to chastise her for trespassing.